'He's paved the way': Leyton Oreint's Vigouroux explains Mendy's impact as a black goalkeeper

“It’s not common that you see a black goalkeeper,” Lawrence Vigouroux said on Leyton Orient’s YouTube channel.

“I think a lot of the perception was that, ‘He’s got a mistake in him’ and I’ve had to battle through that my whole career. And not just me – there’s loads of other black goalies that have had to deal with it.

“It’s something that I think is changing. I look at Mendy at Chelsea – I had never heard of him when he signed for Chelsea – and he’s done amazing, and he has paved the way for a lot of black goalkeepers.

“We can look up to him as a reference for what he’s done in the recent past especially and I feel like that perception is starting to change a little bit.

“I’m looking at our league and I think there are seven or eight that are starting week in, week out, so I feel like that perception is changing, but there’s a long way to go.”

Edouard Mendy became the first African goalkeeper to win the Champions League when he helped Chelsea to the trophy last season.